Russia promotes visit to India, UAE; urges citizens to avoid Europe travel amid war

Amid ongoing war with Ukraine, Russian government on Tuesday issued a travel visory for its citizens and urged m not to travel to "dangerous" European countries. Natalia Kostenko, Deputy Chairman of State Duma Committee on Tourism and Tourism Infrastructure Development, stated that travelling to European countries at moment would not be safe for Russians because of large numbers of Ukrainians residing abro. She also named destinations that should be safe for Russian tourists such as India, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Israel, United Arab Emirates, etc. 

On Monday, April 4, Russia's President Vlimir Putin also signed a decree suspending visa facilitation agreements with "unfriendly" European Union (EU) countries in response to sanctions imposed on Moscow. country's simplified visa process has been suspended with some EU countries as well as Norway, Switzerland, Denmark, Liechtenstein and Iceland, TASS news agency reported. document was published on official portal of legal information.

Russia suspends certain visa provisions of 2006 agreement with European Community

Russian President decided to suspend certain provisions of May 25, 2006 Agreement between Russia and European Community on facilitation of visa issuance to citizens of Russian Federation and European Union. Putin also instructed Foreign Ministry to impose personal restrictions on entry into Russian Federation for foreigners and stateless people who indulge in committing "unfriendly acts". Notably, war between Russia and Ukraine continues to escalate and entered its 41st day on Tuesday. 

Russia rejects possibility of using nuclear weapons against Ukraine

It is significant to mention here that Russia has rejected possibility of using nuclear weapons against Ukraine. Russia's First Deputy Permanent Representative to United Nations, Dmitry Polyanskiy, stated that Moscow would resort to nuclear weapons only if existence of state comes under threat. During a meeting of UN Disarmament Commission, Polyanskiy refuted all allegations and speculation that Russia is mulling using nuclear weapons against Ukraine, Sputnik reported. 

Image: AP